On Thursday, Jinan in eastern Shandong province removed restrictions on home purchases, sparking hopes more cities will follow suit.

Auto stocks also outperformed, help by a tax exemption on green cars announced by the State Council on Wednesday. Chongqing Changan Automobile climbed 4.5 percent to a record high and SAIC Motor Corp added 1.6 percent. (Reporting by Grace Li; Editing by Richard Borsuk)